On Thanksgiving I was talking with a family member from Iceland, and she told me that maybe I should consider going to a country like Germany where college education is free. Not just because it’s free, she was also encouraging me to learn about other cultures and take up learning a second language. This actually sounds like something I might really enjoy.
But I’m wondering, is it really that simple? I did some research and learned a bit about it, but the problem I have is that I did very poorly my first two semesters at BYU (1.9 GPA first semester, and something like 0.3 second semester), then I dropped out because I had lost my scholarship and didn’t have money for tuition. I wasn’t too bummed about it because I wasn’t interested at all in what I was studying and I didn’t like the school. But I really wish I would have taken longer to decide what I wanted.
Would something like this be an option for me at all? I realize I would still need money for living costs and that there’s a lot more to consider about it, but I just want to know if, given my recent performance, I would be disqualified from consideration altogether. I did well in high school and got a 33 on my ACT, but I still did poorly because I was overwhelmed, unsure about the direction I was taking, and admittedly because I was not putting a lot of effort into my work. I want to fix it but it seems I’ve severely limited my options at this point.
German public universities have open admission policies - anyone qualified to attend will be admitted - unless there’s more demand for a particular major than a university can accommodate. Depending on which major you’d want to matriculate in, you’d probably be fine. (Commonly restricted majors include biology, psychology, law and medicine.)
I’d like to add a few thoughts to make sure you are aware:
You may be restricted to courses in a single major, which you select at the time of your application.
Most courses are taught in German, so you should have a good working command of the language before you arrive. Universities typically ask for documentation of your language skills at the time of application.
The academic calendar in Germany does not sync with the academic calendar in the US. The winter term (semester 1) runs from October through February, and the summer term from April through July.
As @b@r!um points out, there are some important differences between the German and US systems:
Typically in Europe you apply for and study one subject/field, and the curriculum is quite set- in your first 2 years all or nearly all of your classes will be required ones; later you choose from a short list of classes (still in the same / related field).
European universities in general do much, much, much less hand-holding than US universities. You will be expected to sort out a lot of things on your own, and people (including professors) will assume that you know how the system works.
The US residential model is not common: most universities have limited college-owned housing and students find their own housing in the area. However, if there is college-owned housing, first year international students are usually the first to get it.
It is difficult - and often not possible- to transfer US credits to European Universities, but that’s a non-issue for you, as your credits won’t transfer much of anywhere.
I am a huge believer in second (and third and fourth) chances, but based just on this post, I don’t know that you are ready and able to pack yourself up and move to a new country where you don’t speak the language, to intensively study a subject that you don’t know if you will like, with the only support mechanism being the administration of the university. You were overwhelmed by high school, and you were overwhelmed at BYU (a place with a lot of support mechanisms). You didn’t like the subjects that you chose to study- in a university where you could easily change subjects.
To me, you are a great candidate for Community Colleges (I am a big fan of them as well). Take some classes in the areas you think that you are interested in now. Build up a good GPA, and transfer when you are ready.
I am not planning to just try to go straight into it of course, I’m just wondering if it could be an option for me in the future. I’m still not totally sure if I’d want to do it even if I knew for certain I could.
I am planning on doing some community college, but I don’t have the money for it right now, and probably won’t for at least year, if I’m being extremely optimistic.
Even if I do get all the money together and am able to pay for one or two years of community college, then I’ll be out of money again and unable to really do anything with my 2-year degree.